Furniture packing structure and method

ABSTRACT

A packing structure includes a lower tray that covers a bottom portion of an item; an upper tray that covers a top portion of the item; a plurality of impact-dampening pieces that are placed on an exterior surface of the item; and a transparent cover that covers the lower tray, the upper tray and the plurality of impact-dampening pieces, wherein the exterior surface of the item is visible from outside the packing structure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/391,394 filed on Oct. 8, 2011, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to a system and process for packing a large item for shipping and storage, and more particularly to a packing structure and a method for packing a large item for shipping or storage.

RELATED ART

Everyday thousands of large items, such as, e.g., articles of furniture, home appliances, musical instruments, etc., are being packed and shipped from factories, warehouses and retailers to nearby or remote locations by truck, ship, airplane and the like. These large items are typically packed using several foam pieces and one or more corrugated boxes. This typical packing approach does not sufficiently protect the packaged items from the hazards of shipping/storage, such as, e.g., shock, vibration, compression, moisture, and the like. Further, the current packing approaches allow the items to move inside the packing. The shortcomings of these packing approaches have resulted in a large and growing amount of damage to the packaged items during transport or storage. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved packing structure and packing method.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a packing structure include a lower tray that covers a bottom portion of an item; an upper tray that covers a top portion of the item; a plurality of impact-dampening pieces that are placed on an exterior surface of the item and a transparent cover that covers the lower tray, the upper tray and the plurality of impact-dampening pieces, wherein the exterior surface of the item is visible from outside the packing structure.

The impact-dampening piece may include a polystyrene foam piece. The impact-dampening piece may further include a fabric layer placed between the polystyrene foam piece and the exterior surface of the item. The fabric layer may be a fabric pocket that contains the polystyrene foam piece.

The upper tray and the lower tray may include corrugated fiberboard. The lower tray may include a bottom wall and a plurality of sidewalk extending upwardly from edges of the bottom wall, and the upper tray may include a top wall and a plurality of sidewalk extending downwardly from edges of the top wall. The bottom wall of the lower tray and the top wall of the upper tray may have substantially the same shape and size. One or more of the plurality of impact-dampening pieces may be placed on the tower tray and the upper tray.

The plurality of impact-dampening pieces may include a corner piece that extends vertically along a side corner of the item. The corner piece may extend between the lower tray and the upper tray. The plurality of impact dampening pieces may further include at least one of a horizontal crossbar that may extend between two of the corner pieces; and a vertical crossbar that may extend between the tower tray and the upper tray.

The plurality of impact-dampening pieces may include a lower corner piece that is placed on a corner of the lower tray and extends upwardly to cover a lower portion of a side corner of the item; and an upper corner piece that is placed on a corner of the upper tray and extends downwardly to over an upper portion of the side corner of the item.

The transparent cover may be a single piece comprising an opening. The transparent cover may provide a vertical compression force that pushes the lower tray and the upper tray towards each other and a horizontal compression force that pushes the impact-dampening pieces placed on side exterior surfaces of the item inwardly.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of packing an item includes placing the item on a lower tray to cover a bottom portion of the item; placing a plurality of impact-dampening pieces on portions of an exterior surface of the item; placing an upper tray on the item to cover a top portion of the item; and covering the lower tray, the upper tray and the plurality of impact-dampening pieces with a transparent cover.

The method may further include placing a plurality of impact-dampening pieces on the lower tray and the upper tray. The plurality of impact-dampening pieces may include at least one of a corner piece that covers a side corner of the item; and a vertical piece that covers a side surface of the item, wherein the corner piece and the vertical piece may extend between the lower tray and the upper tray.

The method may further include at least one of placing a horizontal crossbar that may extend between two corner pieces; and placing a vertical crossbar that may extend between the lower tray and the upper tray.

The transparent cover may be a single piece including an opening. The covering with the transparent cover may include stretching the transparent cover to enlarge the opening; inserting the upper tray, the lower tray and the plurality of impact-dampening members inside the stretched cover via the enlarged opening; and allowing the transparent cover to shrink and compress the upper tray, the lower tray and the plurality of impact-dampening members, wherein the transparent cover may provide a vertical compression force that may push the lower tray and the upper tray towards each other and a horizontal compression force that may push the in pact-dampening pieces placed on side exterior surfaces of the item inwardly.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various was in which it may be practiced.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dresser.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dresser shown in FIG. 1 that is packed by a packing structure that is constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dresser shown in FIG. 1 that is packed by another packing structure that is constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dresser shown in FIG. 1 that is packed by another packing structure that is constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart for a process for packing the dresser shown in FIG. 1 according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 6A shows a bottom perspective view of a stretch hood wrapping machine that is holding a transparent film according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B shows a bottom perspective view of the stretch hood wrapping machine shown in FIG. 6A that is stretching the transparent film to enlarge the opening of the transparent film according to the principles of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments of the disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The disclosure describes a packing structure and packing method that may be used for packing a large item for shipment or storage. Particularly, the packing structure and method described in this disclosure may be used with articles of furniture that vary widely in size, shape and/or weight. The article may be boxy pieces (e.g., dressers, nightstands, etc.) or flat pieces (e.g., mirrors, headboards, etc.). Additional furniture types may include, without limitation, beds, bunk beds, cribs, case goods, mirrors, accessories, and the like.

FIG. 1 shows a dresser 100, which is selected as an example of a large item in this disclosure. The dresser 100 has a plurality of exterior surfaces, such as, e.g., a bottom surface 110, a top surface 120 and a plurality of side surf 130. The top surface 120 may be larger than the bottom surface 110. The side surfaces 130 include a front side surface 130A, a right side surface 130B, a left side surface (not shown) and a rear side surface (not shown). The front side surface 130A may include a plurality of drawers. The front side surface 130A and the rear side surface (not shown) may be wider than the left side surface (not shown) or the right side surface 130B. The dresser 100 may also include a plurality of side corners, such as, e.g., front left side corner 140A, front right side corner 140B, rear right side corner 140C and rear left side corner 140D (not shown). Further, the dresser 100 has a plurality of legs 112 (e.g., front left leg 112A, front right leg 12B, rear right leg 112C and rear left leg (not shown)), which may be located at four corners of the bottom surface 110.

FIG. 2 shows the dresser 100 that is packed by a packing structure 200A constructed according to the principle of the disclosure. The packing structure 200A may include a plurality of trays 210, a plurality of impact-dampening pieces (e.g., pieces 220, 222, and the like) and a transparent cover 250. The trays 210 may include a lower tray 210A and an upper tray 210B. The lower tray 210A may cover a bottom portion of the dresser 100, and the upper tray 210B may cover a top portion of the dresser 100. For example, the lower tray 210A may have a substantially flat bottom wall and four sidewalls extend upwardly from the edges of the bottom wall. The bottom wall of the tower tray 210 may be larger than the bottom surface 110 of the dresser 100. The sidewalk of the lower tray 210A may be tall enough to cover the legs 112 and the bottom portions of the side surfaces 130. The upper tray 210B may also include a substantially flat top wall and four sidewalk extend downwardly from the edges of the top wall. The top wall of the upper tray 210B may be larger than the top surface 120 of the dresser 100. The sidewalk of the upper tray 210B may be tall enough to cover the top surface of the dresser 100 and top portions of the side surfaces 130.

The bottom wall of the lower tray 210A and the top wall of the upper tray 210B may have the same shape and size. For example, the bottom wall of the lower tray 210A and the top wall of the upper tray 210B may have the same rectangular shape and size, as seen in FIG. 2. However, depending on the configuration (e.g., shape, size, weight and the like) of an item that is to be packed, the trays 210A and 210B may have different shapes and sizes. The trays 210 may also cover one or more sides of the dresser 100. The trays 210 may be formed of corrugated fiberboard because it is strong, light, easy to shape, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. The trays 210 may be formed of other materials that can endure the hazardous shipping/storage environmental factors, such as, e.g., shock, vibration, compression, moisture and the like.

The impact-dampening pieces may be strategically placed on various portions of the exterior surface of the dresser 100 to protect the dresser 100 from impact, shock, vibration, and the like, to the dresser 100 and prevent the dresser 100 from moving within the packing structure 200A. Further, the impact-dampening pieces may be shaped and arranged strategically in the packing structure 200A to provide a clear view of the dresser 100 while providing sufficient protection to the dresser 100 without compromising the structural integrity of the packing structure 100. Such a clear view may be advantageous for marketing and display purposes. In addition, shipping and handling personnel may be more likely to take additional care and caution when they can see the dresser 100, as opposed to simply dealing with a large and heavy cardboard box. The impact-dampening pieces may be formed of a material that is structurally strong, easy to shape, light and inexpensive. For example, the impact-dampening pieces may be formed of polystyrene foam or other materials having similar characteristics. The impact-dampening pieces may be covered by a layer of soft material, such as, e.g., fabric, plastic, or the like, since, during transport, the impact-dampening pieces may scratch or damage the exterior surface of the dresser 100. In an embodiment, the impact-dampening piece may be a fabric pocket that contains a polystyrene foam piece.

Referring to FIG. 2, the impact-dampening pieces may include a plurality of side corner pieces 220, such as, e.g., front left side corner piece 220A, front right side corner piece 220B, rear right side corner piece 220C, and the like, to protect the side corners 140 of the dresser 100. The side corner pieces 220 may have an L-shaped cross-sectional shape to fit the side corners 140 of the dresser 100. Also, the side corner pieces 220 may extend between the tower tray 210A and the upper tray 210B to resist and dampen impact to the trays 210A and 210B, such as, for example, the force applied to the upper tray 210B when a heavy item is mounted on the packing structure 200A, or the impact applied to the lower tray 210A when the packing structure 200A is dropped.

Additional impact-dampening pieces may be used to cover other portions of the dresser 100. For example, the packing structure 200A may further include one or more vertical pieces 222. One of the vertical pieces 222 may be arranged between the corner pieces 220A and 220B on the front side surface 130A of the dresser 100 as shown in FIG. 2. Another vertical piece 222 (not shown) may be arranged on the rear side surface of the dresser 100. The vertical pieces 222 may extend between the lower tray 210A and the upper tray 210B to resist and dampen impacts to the trays 210 while protecting the front side surface 130A and the rear side surface (not shown) of the dresser 100. Additional impact-dampening pieces may be placed between the dresser 100 and the trays 210. For example, one or more impact-dampening pieces (not shown) may be sandwiched between the lower tray 210A and the bottom surface 110 of the dresser 100 and between the upper tray 210B and the top surface 120 of the dresser 100.

The combination of the trays 210 and the impact-dampening pieces may be covered by the transparent cover 250. The transparent cover 250 may be pre-fabricated to fit the packing structure 200A. The transparent cover 250 may be applied to the packing structure 200A using a stretch hood wrapping machine (shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B) or a shrink wrapping machine, such as, for example, manufactured by MSK Covertech-Group™, or the like. More specifically, the transparent cover 250 may have a plurality of surfaces for covering the top, bottom and side surfaces of the packing structure 200A. The transparent cover 250 may also include an opening (not shown) at the bottom surface thereof. The transparent cover 250 may be stretched by the stretch hood wrapping machine and the packing structure 200A may be inserted into the transparent cover 250 via the stretched opening. Once the entire packing structure 200A is inserted into the transparent cover 250, the transparent cover 250 may be released from the stretch hood wrapping machine, which causes the transparent cover 250 to shrink and tightly fit the exterior of the packing structure 200A. The transparent cover 250 may create a vertical compression force that may push the lower and upper trays 210A and 210B towards each other, which may prevent the trays 210 from being separated from the packing structure 200A. Further, the transparent cover 250 may create a horizontal compression force that may push the side corner pieces 220, the vertical piece 222, and the like, inwardly towards the side surfaces 130 of the dresser 100. Thus, the transparent cover 250 may keep the trays 210, the impact-dampening pieces, and the like, in place, thereby preventing the dresser 100 from moving within the packing structure 200A.

FIG. 3 shows the dresser 100 packed by another packing structure 200B, which is constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The packing structure 200B may be similar to the packing structure 200A shown in FIG. 2, except that one or more crossbars 230 may extend between the corner pieces 220 and/or between the trays 210. For example, the packing structure 200B may include three horizontal crossbars 230A, 230B and 230C that extend between the corner pieces 220A and 220B. Also, the packing structure 200B may include a vertical crossbar 230D that may extend between the lower tray 210A and the upper tray 210B. The horizontal crossbars 230A, 230B and 230C may resist and dampen impact to the left and right sides of the packing structure 200B while protecting the front side surface 130A of the dresser 100. The vertical crossbar 230D may resist impact to the trays 210 while protecting the right side surface 130B of the dresser. The crossbars 230 may also be formed of corrugated fiberboard, or the like.

FIG. 4 shows the dresser 100 shown in FIG. 1 that is packed by another packing structure 200C that is constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The packing structure 200C may also be similar to the packing structure 200A shown in FIG. 2, except that it may exclude the corner pieces 220. The packing structure 200C may include a plurality of lower corner pieces 224 (e.g., lower corner pieces 224A, 224B, 224C, etc.) and a plurality of upper corner pieces 226 (e.g., upper corner pieces 226A, 226B, 226C, etc.). The lower corner piece 224A may cover a lower portion of the side corner 140A of the dresser 100. The upper corner piece 226A may cover an upper portion of the side corner 140A of the dresser 100. The upper corner piece 226A may also cover a corner portion of the top surface 120 of the dresser 100. Similarly, the bottom corner piece 224A may also cover a corner portion of the bottom surface 110A of the dresser 100. Since there is no corner piece that extends between the lower and upper trays 210A and 210B, the packing structure 200C may include one or more vertical pieces 222 to support the lower and upper trays 210A and 210B.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart for a process 500 for packing the dresser 100 shown in FIG. 1 with the packing structure 200A shown in FIG. 2 according to the principles of the disclosure. Upon starting the process 500 (at 510), one or more impact-dampening pieces may be placed on the lower and/or upper trays 210A and 210B (at 520). To fix the impact-dampening pieces at desired locations on the trays 210A and 210B, an adhesive, such as, e.g., glue, tape, or the like, may be used. The dresser 100 may be then placed on the tower tray 210A (at 530). The impact-dampening pieces placed on the lower tray 210A may be shaped to keep the bottom portion of the dresser 100 clear from the bottom wall of the lower tray 210A such that impact, shock or vibration to the bottom tray 210 are not directly transferred to the dresser 100.

Once the dresser 100 is placed on the lower tray 210A (at 530), a plurality of impact-dampening pieces may be strategically placed on the exterior surface of the dresser 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the corner pieces 220 may be placed to cover the side corners 140 of the dresser 100 (at 540). Also, the vertical pieces 222 may be placed on the front side surface 130A and the rear side surface of the dresser 100 (at 550). The bottom ends of the corner pieces 220 and the vertical pieces 222 may contact either the bottom wall of the lower tray 210A or the impact-dampening pieces placed on the lower tray 210A. Then, the upper tray 210B may be placed on the dresser 100, the corner pieces 220 and the vertical pieces 222 (at 560). The upper tray 210B may also have one or more impact-dampening pieces strategically placed at desired locations, which may keep the top surface 120 of the dresser 100 clear from the top wall of the upper tray 210B. The top ends of the corner pieces 220 and the vertical pieces 222 may contact either the top wall of the upper tray 210B or the impact-dampening pieces placed on the upper tray 210B.

After the upper tray 210B is placed on the dresser 100 (at 560), the packing structure 200A may be wrapped by the transparent cover 250 (at 570). For example, the packing structure 200A may be moved below a stretch hood wrapping machine 600 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. As shown in FIG. 6A, the machine 600 includes a plurality of arms 610 that are inserted into an opening 252 of the transparent cover 250 and positioned at side corners of the transparent cover 250. The machine 300 then may move the arms 610 outwardly to stretch the transparent cover 250 and enlarge the opening 252, as shown in FIG. 6B. Subsequently, the machine 600 may lower the stretched transparent cover 250 such that the entire packing structure 200A is inserted into the enlarged opening 252 of the transparent cover 250. Once the entire packing structure 200A is placed within the stretched transparent cover 250, the transparent cover 250 may be released by the machine 600, which allows the transparent cover 250 to shrink and tightly cover the packing structure 200A. Once the wrapping is completed (at 570), the packing process 500 may terminate (at 580).

The packing structures 200A, 200B and 200C described in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 and the packing process 500 described in FIG. 5 may be used for packing any large items, such as, e.g., furniture, home appliances, electronic devices, musical instruments, home décor products, toys, tools, sporting goods or the like. Further, the packing structures 200A, 200B and 200C described in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 and the packing process 500 described in FIG. 5 may be used to pack two or more smaller items together.

The packing process 500 described in FIG. 5 and the packing steps described with references to FIG. 5 may be carried out by, for example, a manufacturing mechanism (such as, for example, a machine, a robot, a person, or the like) operating under the control of for example, a computer. For example, a computer program may be provided on a computer-readable medium, which may be executed on the computer (not shown) to carry out each of the steps described with reference to FIG. 5 and to control the packing mechanism.

A “computer”, as used in this disclosure, means any machine, device, circuit, component, or module, or any system of machines, devices, circuits, components, modules, or the like, which are capable of manipulating data according to one or more instructions, such as, for example, without limitation, a processor, a microprocessor, a central processing unit, a general purpose computer, a super computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a workstation computer, a server, or the like, or an array of processors, microprocessors, central processing units, general purpose computers, super computers, personal computers, laptop computers, palmtop computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, workstation computers, servers, or the like. Further, the computer may include an electronic device configured to communicate over a communication link. The electronic device may include, for example, but is not limited to, a mobile telephone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a mobile computer, a stationary computer, a smart phone, mobile station, user equipment, or the like.

The terms “including”, “comprising” and variations thereof, as used in this disclosure, mean “including, but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this disclosure, means “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.

Although process steps, method steps, algorithms, or the like, may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of the processes, methods or algorithms described herein may be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of the more than one device or article. The functionality or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features.

A “computer-readable medium”, as used in this disclosure, means any medium that participates in providing data (for example, instructions) which may be read by a computer. Such a medium may take many forms, including non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Transmission media may include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to the processor. Transmission media may include or convey acoustic waves, light waves and electromagnetic emissions, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with pieces of holes, a RAM, a MOM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying sequences of instructions to a computer. For example, sequences of instruction (i) may be delivered from a RAM to a processor, (ii) may be carried over a wireless transmission medium, and/or (iii) may be formatted according to numerous formats, standards or protocols, including, for example, WiFi, WiMAX, IEEE 802.11, DECT, 0G, 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G cellular standards, Bluetooth, or the like.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the disclosure. 

1. A packing structure, comprising: a lower tray that covers a bottom portion of an item; an upper tray that covers a top portion of the item; a plurality of impact-dampening pieces that are placed on an exterior surface of the item; and a transparent cover that covers the lower tray, the upper tray and the plurality of impact-dampening pieces, wherein the exterior surface of the item is visible from outside the packing structure.
 2. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein the impact-dampening piece comprises a polystyrene foam piece.
 3. The packing structure of claim 2, wherein the impact-dampening piece further comprises a fabric layer placed between the polystyrene foam piece and the exterior surface of the item.
 4. The packing structure of claim 3, wherein the fabric layer is a fabric pocket that contains the polystyrene foam piece.
 5. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein the upper tray and the lower tray comprise corrugated fiberboard.
 6. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein the lower tray comprises a bottom wall and a plurality of sidewalls extending upwardly from edges of the bottom wall, and the upper tray comprises a top wall and a plurality of sidewalk extending downwardly from edges of the top wall.
 7. The packing structure of claim 6, wherein the bottom wall of the lower tray and the top wall of the upper tray have substantially the same shape and size.
 8. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of impact-dampening pieces are placed on the lower tray and the upper tray.
 9. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of impact-dampening pieces comprises a corner piece that extends vertically along a side corner of the item.
 10. The packing structure of claim 9, wherein the corner piece extends between the lower tray and the upper tray.
 11. The packing structure of claim 9, wherein the plurality of impact dampening pieces further comprises at least one of: a horizontal crossbar that extends between two of the corner pieces; and a vertical crossbar that extends between the lower tray and the upper tray.
 12. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of impact-dampening pieces comprises: a lower corner piece that is placed on a corner of the lower tray and extends upwardly to cover a lower portion of a side corner of the item; and an upper corner piece that is placed on a corner of the upper tray and extends downwardly to over an upper portion of the side corner of the item.
 13. The packing structure of claim 1, wherein the transparent cover is a single piece comprising an opening.
 14. The packing structure of claim 13, wherein the transparent cover provides a vertical compression force that pushes the lower tray and the upper tray towards each other and a horizontal compression force that pushes the impact-dampening pieces placed on side exterior surfaces of the item inwardly.
 15. A method of packing an item, comprising: placing the item on a lower tray to cover a bottom portion of the item; placing a plurality of impact-dampening pieces on portions of an exterior surface of the item; placing an upper tray on the item to cover a top portion of the item; and covering the lower tray, the upper tray and the plurality of impact-dampening pieces with a transparent cover.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising placing a plurality of impact-dampening pieces on the tower tray and the upper tray.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of impact-dampening pieces comprises at least one of: a corner piece that covers a side corner of the item; and a vertical piece that covers a side surface of the item, wherein the corner piece and the vertical piece extend between the tower tray and the upper tray.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising at least one of: placing a horizontal crossbar that extends between two corner pieces; and placing a vertical crossbar that extends between the lower tray and the upper tray.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the transparent cover is a single piece comprising an opening.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the covering with the transparent cover comprises: stretching the transparent cover to enlarge the opening; inserting the upper tray, the lower tray and the plurality of impact-dampening members inside the stretched cover via, the enlarged opening; and allowing the transparent cover to shrink and compress the upper tray, the lower tray and the plurality of impact-dampening members, wherein the transparent cover provides a vertical compression force that pushes the lower tray and the upper tray towards each other and a horizontal compression force that pushes the impact-dampening pieces placed on side exterior surfaces of the item inwardly. 